The government is committed to developing a youth mobility scheme to help address the skills shortages in the industry, tourism minister Sir John Whittingdale confirmed on Tuesday.
But Whittingdale expressed “frustration” at ministers hearing “too many disparate voices” in travel.
Addressing a Tourism Alliance policy conference in London, Whittingdale – who is providing maternity cover for tourism minister Julia Lopez – said: “I know skills are high on the list of immediate challenges [with] the sector carrying a 20% vacancy rate, [and] I know you’re concerned about Level 3 tourism courses [which are to lose funding].”
He insisted the government “recognises the challenges the sector faces” and said: “The government is working on educational and skills reform with the Tourism Industry Council, including working on a youth mobility scheme to allow students to study and work here. It’s a route by which we hope we can address the skills shortage.”
However, Whittingdale expressed frustration at the limited decision‑making power at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and at the lack of “a single voice” for the sector.
He told the conference: “One of the frustrations we have is that there are too many disparate voices not all speaking together. A single voice can have advantages in unlocking funding.
“The frustration of sitting behind a desk at DCMS is that time and again the decisions are taken elsewhere.”
Whittingdale acknowledged concerns in the inbound sector at a 15%-20% increase in visa fees from October and said: “We do seem to set out to make it difficult for people to come here. One of the things we’ve done is reduce the [number of] people working in visa centres.”
Tom Jenkins, chair of the Tourism Alliance and chief executive of European tourism body Etoa, told him: “The UK’s visa regime is incredibly complicated. We have a really tough sell in markets requiring visas, and Visit Britain has a much smaller budget than those with an easier sell.”
Whittingdale agreed: “We’re outspent many times by some countries.” But he said: “I don’t anticipate being in a position to increase marketing spending.”
However, he hailed the launch next month of the delayed electronic travel authorisation scheme – initially just for visitors from Qatar.